Here's a couple of lousy pics of the new cowl mods. As previously stated, I'm probably going to have to make the exhaust replica from something other the Al tube to get a scale looking exhaust. Oh joy! Going to try the foam some people build planes from I guess. More experimentation. Must be why it's called a hobby? Shoulda been renamed a money-pit.

Ever onward.....Sheesh, I must be an idiot to spend more money/time on mfg aftermarket mods then the whole dang bird cost! I swear to God, it would be cheaper to be a stinking drug addict. Is there a 12 step program for RC Modeling like AA?

Step 1. I Really Need this bird. (The 1st big LIE!) But what a 'wonderful lie' it is!
Step 2. (You add on from here............)

Well the refrigerator tubing failed. Not for bending but for gluing/attaching. If there's something out there that can stick 2 pieces of this together, I'd be curuious to know what it is. 30 minute cure with cyno failed. Back to Al tube I guess. Road trip for more material. Rats.

I did get my new LG painted tho. Just need to cut the lower rods & add shock bags. Pic of cowl with 'test' Al exhaust tubes. Maybe I need to try this foam stuff?

Images

As stated, the new LG is made. For some reason, it all fits like a glove, better to be lucky then good I guess..LOL. 6 'lite' coats of paint as of today. Will need to cut the lower strut bracing to allow for factory LG flex. Plus the install of the LG shock bracing. The lower shock rod bracing (no pics as of yet, paint is still wet) will have scale (sorta) covers for looks.

Again, & I HATE to rehash this, the mods to 'create' any semblance of the exhaust is kicking my rear end into the heavens. I've spent 40 + hours looking thru the web in NG's and here & there to figure out a way to make some scale type bends to create a 'somewhat authentic looking' exhaust system. Pic is posted here with the 'closest I can come with available products'. I've spoken with Dubro & K&S for bending the tubing with no results. I've tried every 'method', as it were to try bending .014 wall Al tubing to get a 1/4" radius bend in this tubing. I've even tried heavy wall Al tube but I'm UNABLE TO GET A SHORT ENOUGH BEND RADIUS to lend to scale.
Everything has failed to date.

Desperation prevailing, I tried some left over 1/4" od plastic tubing that fed my icemaker in the refrigerator. It 'may' have some promise. ( I have about 10~15' of it left. ) I swear to God, I've tried every available option I read about plus some you've never heard about, to get this bend.

Can you say KINK?

Irrespective of the above, the lower half of the (FG) FiberGlass...Continue Reading

On to the cowl. am 'trying' to find a tubing bender that will bend 3/16"~1/4" radius of 7/32" tube for the exhaust. Now there's a problem..Try bending this tubing without collapsing the walls & flat shaping it..Add to this my dremel quit working.. & less then 60 hours of running time (The switch only) but really IRRITATING.
The exhaust tubes need installed before I can glass in the cowl inlets because of exhaust access securing. BUT, I can't install the exhaust tubes "until" I can get the tubes bent. Time delay again. Have requests in to Dubro and K&S for bending the tubing, unless someone 'can or will do it'? Any expert tubing benders out there? Drop a PM
Found a website, http://www.savacable.com that may be able to produce/supply cabling for the tail feathers. Lord I'm hoping... but ???

It's an uphill battle all the way to develop/mfg anything relative to the scale...Continue Reading

Attempted to weld new X bracing onto LG for detail via gas welding. (I have 25 years as a certified welder/all phases) The Eflite LG matl. is WAY TO SOFT to weld via gas w/ms heli arc rod. (oxy/act) Heli-arc..Maybe? Mig..Maybe? Welding filler wire was Nuclear Grade heli-arc matl. The LG wire is not ASTM A36 wire, or if it is suppossed to be, something else was substituted. The LG wire got hot and literally dropped off, just like Al wire does when it gets to hot. No bending/drooping/distorting, just fell off.GGRRRRR Waiting to hear from Eflite on this..........

Moving on.. Major restructuring on the cowl. Using .016 Al sheet matl. I constructed new cylinder cooling inlets. Rolled these around the Xacto knife & then spread them open to fit the profile. Mfg from Eflite didn't exactly work since the FG (fiberglass) cyl. heads were lower on one side then the other, which changed the radius @ the top 1/2 of the inlet cowls Just look @ one side @ a time I guess. Not real bad but way to noticeable. As I previously stated, lack of QA/QC work from Eflite. These will need to be glassed/epoxied in to provide a smooth contour @ the rear, top & bottom.

I cut holes thru the side of the cowl to allow airflow into the engine housing. Included tabs on the .016 Al that penetrate the cowl & will be glassed/epoxied on the inside for retention. Mfg. of inlets burned up a tree or two by modeling in AutoCad and printing out for test fitting with heavy gloss laser photo paper for rigidity. (12 runs) Don't even get me started on what the wife had to say.............
My only defense was," this, or chasing women & drinking @ the local watering hole?"........dead silence..peace reigns again

Off to town tommorrow for new LG wire that will meet ASTM A-36 specs for welding. Just a PAIN! Eflite, ya hear this?

This a build/mod log of my ARF J-3 E-flite 25 size cub. Had this thing 80%? put together & thought hey, I need to spend more money here. Nice plane but SERIOUSLY lacking detail. QA/QC product also lacking but that's another story. The plane has a sufficient size to support a lot more detail..so...here I go. The hunt for parts, jeez &#%&)&@#$&) ....ok settling down.

1st. LG skirts~ Stinking tie wraps to secure, what in the ??? were these people thinking? These had to go. New balsa covered w/monokote cover & set inside the wire gear framing. Will cover the LG wire gear & new balsa with another layer of monokote. Although the original J3 had only fabric, I'm reinforcing it with this addn. NO STINKIN tie wraps! Ya hear me E-flite? holy crimany..Not installed yet because the LG needs some 'simple X-Brace mods' that "should have come w/a bird of this scale" and will require welding prior to installing the new skirts. Covered later..

2nd. Cowl. Good lord, what were these people thinking when they designed the cowl?? Dremeled all the ?something?exhaust? tubes off. Uh, there's only '1' exhaust tube per cylinder, not the '4' on the bird. This left some ugly loss of cowl matl. Installed new epoxied glass to cover the loss & will sand smooth. 1st mistake was 5/min/epoxy. What WAS I thinking..jeez. No mistakes as it needs sanding, but stupidity reared it's ugly head. Working on mfg. new exhaust from 7/32" aluminum tube. Gotta...Continue Reading